West Bridgewater mom hoping for new lease on life with kidney donation

Saturday

May 24, 2014 at 6:00 AMMay 24, 2014 at 11:05 AM

West Bridgewater mom prays for her donor as she gets kidney donation.

WEST BRIDGEWATER – On the verge of her life-saving surgery, Jenny Williams prayed not for herself but her organ donor.

Williams, 50, of West Bridgewater, has been waiting years for a new kidney.

Friday at 3 p.m., Williams called her family members on the phone, an hour before she was scheduled to undergo surgery to receive a new kidney.

“Everything is a perfect match,” said her sister Leslie Anderson of West Bridgewater. The kidney was taken from a living donor who suffered a stroke, Anderson said. “Jenny asked for the people at her church (First Church of West Bridgewater) to say a prayer for the donor’s family. It’s good for Jenny but sad for their family.”

Williams underwent surgery Friday and was listed in good condition at Tufts Medical Center Saturday, according to a hospital spokesperson.

Anderson was planning to visit Williams in Boston on Saturday with her sister Martha. “It’s going to be great.” If all went well with the kidney transplant operation, Williams would be in the hospital for at least week, Anderson said.

Williams is an East Bridgewater native born with one functioning kidney. She had a kidney transplant in 1990 when she was 26. Her brother Peter Hanson, of South Yarmouth, donated the kidney at the time.

“I spoke with Jenny around 3 p.m., and she sounded good,” Peter Hanson said. He said that the new kidney for Jenny had already been couriered to the hospital. “Everything looks good at this point,” he said. His wife Diane added that Jenny sounded “excited and happy” on the phone. “We really have our fingers crossed. We want to see her get better soon,” said Diane Hanson.

Williams was one of 2,185 people on a wait list for a kidney transplant in Massachusetts, according to the National Kidney Foundation.

She has been on dialysis since 2011 when her kidney function began failing. Three overnights a week Williams would drive to Brockton for her kidney dialysis which would take more than seven hours for each session. The machines worked to eliminate waste and unwanted water from her blood so they would function as healthy kidneys.

Williams’ 6-year-old daughter Jocelyn launched a poster campaign trying to find a kidney donor for her mom. The kindergartner, who goes to the Spring Street School, made posters that read “Mom Jenny needs a kidney.” Williams and her husband David, adopted both Joshua, 9 and Jocelyn when they were infants.

Those posters were brought to the First Church of West Bridgewater where Williams is a deacon. The church began its own efforts to help her find a kidney donor.

On Friday, the pastor of the church said that the entire congregation was praying for Williams. “We are praying for her and waiting to get an update,” said Carol Ashton.

The church hosted a speaker from the New England Organ Bank to talk about the need for organ donors on May 19. “I am so humbled by that,” Williams said earlier this month. “I am extremely grateful and hopefully we can raise awareness and get the word out.”

Jennifer Bray may be reached at jbray@enterprisenews.com or follow her on Twitter @JenniferB_ENT.